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Thursday, July 23, 2015

The Attack of the Never Ending Project

By John Yancey

Projects at work seem to magically appear and at a volume
that almost certainly means that one of these projects will fall into your lap
sooner rather than later. Now these
projects can take many forms along the continuum, but collectively they share one
specific challenge that can derail any project and is well worth exploring in
more detail.

One of the first decisions that must be made before this
journey can even begin is scope.

Who are
the stakeholders associated with this project and what roles do they need to
play to make the project successful?

What materials will you need to complete the project and how much will
all of this cost?

How long will the project take and what are the deliverables
that we are required to produce.

Answering these questions up front can go a
long ways towards ensuring that you project gets off to a good start.

But then it happens. Someone at some point utters the words that
are potentially kryptonite to any successful project: “What if we just ...” And it
begins, scope creep.

Once you have taken the time to create a detailed project
plan, deviations from that plan need to be considered carefully as they can
have a very significant impact. Seemingly small changes can dramatically change project costs, required
team members, and the overall project timeline. Now, this does not mean that every change has a negative impact on your
project. That simply is not the case. Still, you need to do you due diligence as
you exam proposed changes to see how they impact your project and if they are
worth taking on. Many times, the best
course of action is the stay the course and complete you project as these
mid-project changes can be reformatted to be their own new project somewhere
down the line.

In the end, project management is a complete mix of
challenges of which scope creep is but a singular player. The University of North Florida Division of
Continuing Education has the tools necessary to help ensure that your next
project is a success and more importantly, that you are a success in leading
that project. See all that we have to
offer at www.unf.edu/ce.